Spurs teammates expecting Leonard to start

After a solid showing from Kawhi Leonard on Friday in his first game in more than a month, some of his teammates believe coach Gregg Popovich will insert him back in the starting lineup when the Spurs host the Dallas Mavericks tonight at the AT&T Center.

“I hope so,” said point guard and leading scorer Tony Parker. “Kawhi’s been playing great. He was hurt. That can happen to anybody.

“Pop usually gives you one game on the bench (when you return). He did that with me, he did that with Timmy (Duncan).”

Leonard missed 17 games with left quadriceps tendinitis before logging 20 minutes against visiting New Orleans on Friday, more than nine of those in the fourth quarter of a close game. He scored eight points and had two steals in the Spurs’ 99-94 victory.

“I expect Kawhi to start tomorrow and do the same stuff he’s been doing since the beginning of the season,” Parker said. “He looked great last game. .?.?. I think he’s fine. No setbacks, so I expect him to start.”

If Leonard goes back to his usual role as the starting small forward, Danny Green is planning on sliding back to his normal spot as the starting two guard.

“I figure at some point we’ll go back to what was working,” Green said. “Last year we did pretty well (with that lineup), and even before (Leonard and Stephen Jackson) were hurt, we were doing pretty well with those rotations.

“It’s going to take a little time. Obviously, we’ve had a couple of new additions, some guys played really well off the bench in Nando (De Colo) and Patty (Mills). We’re still trying to find them some minutes. But I think eventually we’re going to go back to the rotations that we had.”

Not worried about the misses: Mired in a long-distance shooting slump, Green said there is only one way out of such a dilemma: Keep firing away.

Missing 4 of 5 attempts against New Orleans on Friday extended his recent run of 3-point misery to five games. He is 7 for 27 in that span for 25.9 percent. For the season, he’s at 36.9 percent.

“Just continue to shoot, continue to play basketball,” he said of his approach. “You can’t worry about it too much. Do the other things to help us win the game. Continue to play defense. The shots will be there, and eventually they’ll fall.

“Some nights they won’t fall. So things are different now, the rotations are going to be different, so everyone has to fall into the chemistry of where they’re going to be playing, how they’re going to approach the game. But my mental approach, my physical approach to the game is going to be the same.”